Game board



MarchZI, 19 4- R M. SCHLESINGER GAME BOARD Filed Feb. 19, 1941" 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mex/ma;

March 1944- R. M. SCHLESINGER 2,344,737

GAME BOARD Filed Feb. 19, 1941 s Shegs-Sheet 2 March 21,1944.

R M. SCHLESINGER GAME BOARD 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Fe b. 19, 1941 Patented Mar. 21, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GAME BOARD Ralph MQSchlesinger, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application February 19, 1941, Serial No. 379,680

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel game board on which may be played a number of different interesting games employing gamepieces of disk form, certain ones of which are employed as shooters by being propelled over the surface of the game board;

The present invention consists of features and details of construction hereinafter more fully described, shown in 'the accompanying drawings and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a game board constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view thereof taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure .3 is a view similar to Figure 1 looking at one surface of a modified form of the invention.

Figure 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure -5 is a view similar to Figure 3, looking at the other surface of the board shown in the latter figure; and

Figure 16 is a fragmentary section on line 6--6 of Figure .3.

Referring in detail to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the present game board includes a game board proper preferably consisting of a lower lamination 5 of substantially square :form and an upper lamination 6 super-imposedand-secured upon the lamination 5, the upper lamination 6 being cut away along the sides thereof as at l. A rail 8 surrounds the edge of the game board, being preferably grooved as at 9 to receive the edge of the lower lamination 5 as shown in Figure 2. Thus, a trap area or shallow recess I is defined along each side of the board inwardly of the rail 8, coincident with the cutout portions 1 of the upper lamination 6 of thegame board proper.

The corner portions of the upper lamination 6 extend to the rail 8 as at l I, and these extending corner portions of lamination 6 are cut away on an are as at 12 where the lower lamination is similarly .cut away to provide the board with corner openings having pockets 13 associated therewith. .These pockets are preferably of flexible net material so as to be readily collapsible. It will be noted that the rail 8 is curved or extended upwardly and inwardly at theinner side thereof as at I4, and as the height of the rail is somewhat greater than the thickness of the disklike game pieces used, it will be apparent that such rail will serve to deflect such game pieces into the trap areas or recesses l0 when propelled certain againstthe'rail where such trap areas occur. This minimizes the possibility of the game pieces rebounding back onto the upper playing surface of the board provided on the lamination B.

At diagonally opposite corners of the board, the corner extensions H are provided on the sur faces thereof with lines defining a square I5 and a circle l6 centrally within the square. The cen tral portion of the board has marked on the surface thereof an outer circle I! and inner circle I8, a square 19 Within the inner circle, other circles 20 at the corners of and midway between the corners of the square l9, and dots 2.1. Four of the dots 2| are arranged outside,v the square l9 and within the circle l8 midway between the corners of the square I9, while other dots 2| are provided centrally of the circles 20 disposed midway between the corners of the square l9. The remaining dots, five in number. are arranged centrally within the square 19. It will be further noted, that radial lines 22 are provided between the circles 11 and I8 in line with a plane intersecting the centers of the circles 16.

The remaining corner sections I l have triangular shaped areas 22 marked thereon which also extend inwardly across the circles l1 and I8, and each triangular area is subdivided by lines 24 into scoring spaces 25 having different values as indicated by the numerals placed in these scoring spaces. At the outer or base ends of the triangular areas 23 are provided further areas defined by a line 26 and containing the notation IO-Off. Certain game pieces which are em' ployed as shooters ar placed within the areas defined by the line 26, in playing certain games. as will be later described.

While a large number of different games can be played on the present game board, I will only briefly describe a few of the same. One game, which I choose to call Knocko and which may be played by 2 persons, involves the use of 5 disklike game pieces for each player, the game pieces of one player being of a different color than those employed by the other player. The object of the game is to be the first to get all of the opponents disks off of the board. In playing this game, the players stand near the opposite corners of the board containing the squares l5. Each player places 4 of his game pieces in the adjacent circle l6, and a player selecting game pieces of a certain color starts the game. The players shoot alternately from their respective side of the board outside the circle l8. Any players disk may be designated as a shooter provided it is off the board, and any disk that touches the outer circle ticular players half of this space.

I! is considered off the board. If a player's 5 disks are onthe board when his turn arrives, the opponent designates which one shall be his shooter, and if the shooter goes off the board on this turn the player may replace it in the center of the board. Other rules and regulations may be adopted, and it will be apparent that any disk or game pieces propelled against the rail 8 will be deflected into the trap areas l where the latter occur.

Another game which I choose to call Horseshoe Knocko, may be played by either 2 or 4 players. If 2 play, both players stand at the same end of the board, but if 4 play, 2 opposing players stand at each end of the board. In this game, the opponents are each equipped with 2 disks or game pieces, the disks or game pieces of one player or team being of a different color than those of the opposing player or team. The object is to score 21 points or two more points than the opponent in an equal number of chances. Players determine in advance which method of propelling disks is to be used, the possible methods being pitching, shoving or snapping the disks from the center of the circle IS in the square l5 adjacent the player. The players take turns, alternating with an opponent, in propelling one disk at a time. A player may force an opponents disks out of scoring position, and after all players have completed their turns, scoring is made by counting 3 points for every disk inside the circle l6, 2 points for every disk inside the square l5 and touching the circle 16 therein, and 1 point for each disk nearest the center of the circle I6 if outside the same,

Still another game of interest which may be played on the present board is one which I choose to call Shuffle Knocko. This game may be played by 2 or 4 players, and if 2 persons play both stand at the same end of the board. If 4 play, opposing players stand at each end of the board, and each opposing player or team is equipped with 4 disks. The disks of one player or team will be a diiferent color than those of the other player team, and the object is to score 50 points or more points than the opponent after all players have had an equal number of chances. Players determine before the game the method of propelling the disks, choosing either a snap shot or a quick shove with any finger. When only 2 persons are playing, the disks may be propelled from any part of the "10 off space 26, but when 4 persons are playing, the disks must be propelled from the parselecting disks of a predetermined color will have first turn, and the players take turns, alternating with opponent in propelling one disk at a time with a view to causing it to land in a scoring space-25. A disk touching a line 24 does not score, and any disk landing in a dead area must be removed before the next player takes his turn. A player may shove an opponents disk into the 10 oil area or any part out of position, and when all players have shoved all of their disks, the scores are figured by adding the numbers I within the areas 25 within which the disks have been shot. 7

Still another game is one which I choose to call Knocko Ringster. This game. may be played by 2 or more players using 13 disks and as many numbered disks for shooters as there are players. The object is to win the greatest number of disks by knocking them out of the outer circle IT or by earning them. To proceed, the 13 The player disks are set on the spots 2| and the players successively shoot their numbered disks from any point outside the outer circle IT. The object is to knock out one or more disks which have been placed on the spots 2|, or to knock them from the board while also causing the shooter to go ofi the board. A disk which touches the outer circle I1 is considered knocked out, and a player continues to shoot if his shooter goes out when knocking out a disk or disks. The players retain any disks they knock out until the end of the game, and a players turn ends if his shooter remains in the circle I! or if it fails to knock out a disk. A player may remove his shooter from the board when his next turn arrives if it is still there, and any player whose shooter is left inside the board forfeits or owes two disks to an opponent who knocks it out. Scoring is done by adding the number of disks in each player's possession together with disks owed him, the player having the highest number winning. There are of course many other well known types of games that can be played on the present board utilizing the pockets l3 and trap areas I 0, all of which involve, in playing them, the use of disk-like game pieces, some of which are employed as shooters and are propelled on the playing surface, usually to cause the other disk-like game pieces to be knocked from the playing surface into the trap areas ID or pockets l3.

As shown in Figures 3 to 6, inclusive, the board proper 50. may be of one piecev with the recess I0 and the corner openings |2:and pockets l3 omitted. One surface of this board will be laid out in all other respects similar to the surface of the board shown in Figure 1, and this is illustrated in Figure 5. Features of the devices in Figures 1 and 5 which are similar are indicated by like reference numerals. In this modified form of the invention, the rail 8 extends beyond opposite surfaces'of the'board, the inner side of the portion which extends beyond the surface shown in Figure 5 being extended upwardly and inwardly as at M entirely around the board proper 5a. The other surface of this board proper may have a checkered central surface portion 30, similar to checker boards, surrounded by a line defining a square 3| having lines at the corners thereof representing home plate, 1st base, 2nd base, and 3rd base of a baseball diamond as indicated respectively at 32, 33, 34 and 35 in Figure 3. Five colored circles 36 are provided at the central portion of the checkered central surface portion 30, and the corners of the board surface are provided with trap areas 31 which may be defined by lines or by recessing the board proper as shown. The portion of rail. 8 which projects beyond this surface of the board proper has a vertical inner side as at 38 except at the trap areas 31 where it extends upwardly and inwardly as indicated at Ma. A line 39 parallel with and between each side of the square 3| and the adjacent portion of rail 8, and connecting adjacent areas 31, defines a place from which shooter game pieces may be projected on the board surface in playing certain games on this surface of the game board. As the exact nature of and rules for these various games may be greatly varied and form no specific or patent-able part of the invention, they need'not be disclosed herein.

What I claim as newis:

1; A game board of the character described, comprising a substantially rectangular board proper having shallow recesses of uniform depth along the sides thereof forming trap areas extending substantially from corner to corner of the board, and a rail around the board proper extended upwardly and inwardly at the inner sides thereof so as to deflect the disk-like game pieces into said trap areas when projected against the rail, said board proper comprising upper and lower laminations, the upper lamination being cut away to provide said recesses, said board having elevated corner surface portions separating said recesses.

2. A game board of the character described, comprisin a substantially rectangular board proper having shallow recesses of uniform depth along thesides thereof forming trap areas extending substantially from corner to corner of the board, and a rail around the board proper extended upwardly and inwardly at the inner sides thereof so as to deflect the disk-like game pieces into said trap areas when projected against the rail, said board proper comprising upper and lower laminations, the upper lamination being cut away to provide said recesses, the upper lamination having corner extensions extended to the rail at the corners of the board and having the outer ends of the corner extensions thereof cut away, the corners of the lower lamination being pockets operatively associated with said openings.

RALPH M. SCHLESINGER. 

